One Cool Gesture By Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickselon has on the good and bad side of my wrath over the years, simply put I call him out when he does good and ridicule him if he slips up on and off the course. So here goes a brownie point via my scribe for Phil. Golf fans and insiders alike over this past year have sent up prayers and well wishes for Phil’s wife Amy and his mother, who has been battling with breast cancer over the past year.

Cancer survivors are always heralded as the heroes, and like hell they are, but sometimes no one stop to think about the physicians and the staff under whose care these patients flourish. So when a husband and son tips his cap to the physican and his staff to say thanks, to me that is special. This past weekend at the Shell Houston Open, “Leftie” show some love to the Dr. Tom Buchholz, the radiation oncologist who has been treating his wife and mother, inviting the doctor along to be his caddy for a few holes, when he was no longer in contention.

Mickelson had invited Dr. Tom Buchholz of the Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, to the tournament along with many other doctors and hospital staff. Dr. Buchholz joined Mickelson on the 14th tee to take over from his regular caddy Bones Mackay.

Now that’s one really cool gesture and the least he could do to say thanks for the care and dedicating given to the two most important women in his life. Phil says that their health is coming along very well. Dr. Buchholz helped Mickelson to a birdie on 14, and suddenly a one-hole stint turned into three holes. “Three great reads, three great clubs,” Mickelson said later. “It was only supposed to go one hole. I ended up making birdie, and I kept making birdies. We went 3-for-3 together.” Buchholz had some experience as a caddy, having looped after college. But it wasn’t his green-reading skills that put him on the bag. We could only hope that the doctor has some free time for the Masters, if Phil needs to make a “Bag Call”.